Introduction
This is a site review from my trip to cover the lake shore route from the middle of the mitten northward.
Business/Location Name | Ace Hardware |
Address | 5112 N U.S. 23, Oscoda, MI 48750 |
Network | Red E Charge |
Station Details | One 160kW Dual Port EVSE |
Cost | $0.49/kWh + $0.30 Session fee |
The second planned stop of this trip was in Oscoda, MI. This is one of the many newly installed sites being opened by the Michigan based Red E Charge. Red E Charge has also been awarded many NEVI funded sites in Michigan and other states. I planned my stop at this location as it was the next available fast charger on the lake coastal route.
(This station opened in October 2023).
Accessibility
This station is in the parking lot for the park directly connected to the US-23 route that follows the coast. The single Red E Charge unit is easy to spot as you approach the Ace Hardware. The parking is in the corner of the lot far from the building, but close to the road, so no fear of these spots being used for anything other than charging. However, since the parking is “nose in”, there’s no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.
Amenities
Amenities here are limited:
Dining options include: McDonalds,
Shopping options include: Ace Hardware
Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air): None
Concentration
This is a single Red E Charge Autel MaxiCharger capable of outputting power to both connectors at the same time. This station is the pull/back into configuration, easy charging with Elektra’s front port location or when backing in with Voltron to charge.
Location
Having additional charging options along the coast route is good for the support of drivers taking a trip around the state. From here it is about 150 miles north to Mackinaw City, 90 miles west to Grayling and 90 miles south to Bay City.
50 Mile Radius:
150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:
Speed
This Autel MaxiCharger is a step up from the ChargePoint CPE 250 units populated for destination charging. The rated 160kW is achieved by using the air-cooled cables in boost mode to provide up to 400 A for short periods of time to match the charging curves of many vehicles. Higher voltage vehicles won’t need this current boost to get these speeds. I averaged 123kW, which likely means I saw a peak of 130kW. In this case, I am not sure how this site can be 160kW when the transformer on site is only 150kVA. I would be interested to see how this site splits power based on this limitation.
Summary
I arrived at this stop with 45% battery and 126 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter). I had averaged 3.9 miles/kWh on the drive. With temperatures in the mid 60’s I didn’t need to run the HVAC much. When I pulled up to the station, I started the charge in the app. Plugging in the display of the charger went through the sequence to start charging. When I went to stop the charge, the app indicated that the session had timed out and there was no way to stop the charge from the app or the charger. I set the charge limit in the car to stop at 80%, which was my target, and I depended on the car to stop the session at all my Red E Charge stops for the rest of this trip. I was told by their help desk that this is already fixed in the iOS app and will be fixed with the next Android update. My only other option to stop the charge would have been to call them every time.
What I paid for this stop:
Total Cost: $14.32 (Session $0.30, Taxes $0.86)
Total kWh: 28.62kWh
Time: 14 Minutes
Average Charge Speed: 123 kW (Calculated)
Cost per kWh: $0.49
Questions or Comments:
dantheevman@gmail.com
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